Fire crews work among heavy smoke while searching for a man that was thought to still be in the house at 1113 37th Street on Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2018. Emily Blobaum/For the Register, Emily Blobaum/For the Register

Fire crews work among heavy smoke while searching for a man that was thought to still be in the house at 1113 37th Street on Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2018. Emily Blobaum/For the Register, Emily Blobaum/For the Register

Fire crews work among heavy smoke while searching for a man that was thought to still be in the house at 1113 37th Street on Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2018. Emily Blobaum/For the Register, Emily Blobaum/For the Register

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A blaze Wednesday night significantly damaged the front of a Des Moines home and sent two residents, including an elderly woman, to hospitals, fire officials said.

Firefighters were called at about 10 p.m. to 1113 37th St. in the city's Drake neighborhood, where they began battling flames.

Des Moines fire Lt. Chris Clement said two people inside, believed to be a younger man and his grandmother, were sent to hospitals. The 85-year-old woman was taken to Iowa Methodist Medical Center before she was transferred to an Iowa City hospital.

Firefighters pulled the elderly woman out of the home where she lives with her son and grandson, rescuing her, Clement said. It was initially reported that the man went back into the house to retrieve his grandmother after calling for help.

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Emergency personnel transport an elderly woman out of a burning house at 1113 37th Street on Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2018.(Photo: Emily Blobaum/For the Register, Emily Blobaum/For the Register)

Both were outside and alert, conscious and talking to firefighters when they arrived.

Officials, calling for additional resources, initially believed the man's father was inside the home, but they learned he was at work at the time.

Photographs taken at the scene showed first responders fighting the blaze as emergency lights flashed off nearby homes and smoke pouring out of the structure.

Fire investigators remained at the scene into the morning hours Thursday, working to determine a cause of the blaze, Clement said.

The front of the house suffered significant damage while the back appeared to have been intact, Clement said. There was no word on financial damage.